GCC to witness big surge in government revenues in 2021 | Banking – Gulf News
Oil price recovery will result in big gains in terms of government revenues for key GCC countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, according to Institute of International Finance (IIF), a Washington based association of global financial institutions.
GCC’s aggregate current account surplus is projected to witness more than fivefold growth in 2021 to $109 billion from $20 billion in 2020.
The IIF has projected GCC’s hydrocarbon revenue to increase from $221 billion in 2020 to $326 billion in 2021.
“Our calculations show that for every $10/bbl in-crease in oil prices, hydrocarbon exports would increase by $40 billion in Saudi Arabia and $12 billion in the UAE,” said Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist, IIF MENA.
Damac narrows second-quarter loss amid property market recovery
Damac Properties, the UAE's third-biggest property developer by market capitalisation, narrowed its second-quarter loss amid continued recovery of the UAE's property market.
Net loss for the three months to the end of June reached Dh101 million ($27.5m), lower than the Dh280m it reported for the same period last year, the company said in a statement on Saturday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.
Revenue for the reporting period fell to Dh735.75m, from Dh1.14 billion a year earlier.
The company also reduced its loss for the first six months of the year to Dh290.63m, from Dh386.69m reported for the first half of 2020.
An increase in booked sales in the first half, however, also resulted in higher selling expenses to Dh1.01bn, the company said.
Damac, which built the Middle East’s only Trump-branded golf course, reported booked sales of Dh2.6bn for the first six months of the year and the delivery of 2,700 units in Dubai.
The company's narrowing of losses comes amid a gradual recovery of the UAE’s real estate market, as the Arab world’s second-largest economy rebounds from the pandemic-driven slowdown.
In July, the real estate market in Dubai recorded a 15 per cent rise in prices, as the vaccination programme and new stimulus measures boost investor confidence, according to Property Monitor.
The average property price in the emirate climbed to Dh941 per square foot last month, from Dh818 per square foot recorded during the same month last year, according to the monthly market report.
Oil dips, little changed on week despite weaker demand forecasts | Reuters
Oil prices dipped on Friday and ended the week little changed after weathering concerns from banks and the International Energy Agency that the spread of coronavirus variants is slowing oil demand.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude settled down 72 cents, or 1%, at $70.59 a barrel for the session.U.S. West Intermediate crude settled down 65 cents at $68.44.
For the week, Brent fell less than 1%, after dropping 6% last week, its largest week of losses in four months. Last week WTI slumped nearly 7% in its biggest weekly decline in nine months. read more
On Thursday, the IEA said demand for crude oil ground to a halt in July and was set to rise at a slower pace over the rest of the year because of surging infections from the Delta variant of the coronavirus. read more
Still, oil has remained supported by improved demand in the world's top consumer, the United States and other nations where the COVID-19 vaccination rate is higher.
